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EFL expert makes ‘absolutely deadly’ claim on Sunderland ace ahead of Coventry City play-off second leg

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Sunderland face Coventry City in the play-off semi final second leg at the Stadium of Light with a 2-1 lead after the first leg at the CBS Arena.

Wilson Isidor opened the scoring before Jack Rudoni equalised just moments later in the first leg. However, Milan van Ewijk’s mistake late on allowed Eliezer Mayenda to race through and score.

Position Team Played MP Won W Drawn D Lost L For GF Against GA Diff GD Points Pts
1 LeedsLeeds46 29 13 4 95 30 65 100
2 BurnleyBurnley46 28 16 2 69 16 53 100
3 Sheff UtdSheffield Utd46 28 8 10 63 36 27 90
4 SunderlandSunderland46 21 13 12 58 44 14 76
5 CoventryCoventry46 20 9 17 64 58 6 69
6 Bristol CityBristol City46 17 17 12 59 55 4 68

Sunderland in fourth met Coventry City who finished fifth and Frank Lampard called for calm and to not look too far ahead of themselves ahead of kick-off but the Coventry boss is looking to end their recent Wembley woes with it all to do at the Stadium of Light.

Heading into these games, Troy Deeney argued the Black Cats are underdogs due to terrible form to end Sunderland’s season. It meant that Regis Le Bris was dividing fans for these defining fixtures — but he nailed the first game in the Midlands.

Coventry City v AFC Sunderland - Sky Bet Championship Play-Off Semi Final First Leg
Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

Ali Maxwell’s Wilson Isidor praise following performance for Sunderland vs Coventry City

The win was particularly impressive, given that the Black Cats have a worrying record against Cov. Isidor’s well-timed run and smashed finish opened the scoring in the first leg but the centre-forward had not scored in almost 14 games prior to his second-half strike.

Not the Top 20 podcast’s George Elek has detailed Isidor and Ao Tanaka as the signings of the season previously, but his co-host has also been full of praise for the Sunderland striker recently.

Ali Maxwell said: “He’s a player that I love. He’s a player that — when he was scoring — got a lot of love on the pod.

“The pod hasn’t mentioned Wilson Isidor for the last few months. That tells you how quiet he’s been. Obviously, lost his place to Mayenda.

“He justified starting in this game. He’s just an interesting player from a striker profile point of view in the Championship because he has a tonne of the attributes — basically the most attractive attributes for a modern Championship striker.”

Maxwell added: “He’s got size and awkward physicality, even if he’s not necessarily a taller target man. But he can be an attacking threat aerially inside the box with good movement and his height.

“But he’s got such acceleration, he loves peeling wide, he’s quite a nifty dribbler, quite an awkward dribbler when he does get the ball in wide scenarios. Absolutely deadly in transition, as we saw during the regular season — particularly against Leeds — but also here clearly with the goal.

“He also is not involved at any point in the game. If you look at the stats around Isidor’s touches per match and passes per match, he is not involved whatsoever.

“So, when he’s not scoring, there is a big question about how much he’s adding to the team. He doesn’t get on the ball from deep, he doesn’t link play particularly, and he is just that final action striker.

“And when the team is playing well and creating lots of those opportunities for him, and he’s in form and confident in front of goal? Looks amazing!”

West Bromwich Albion FC v Sunderland AFC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images

Isidor’s Sunderland record ahead of second Coventry City clash

Sunderland are in a great position and Black Cats fans disagree with Julio Arca’s assessment of the first leg after a perfect away performance from Isidor and co. in Sunderland defending like ‘demons’.

The Frenchman will hope to build on that and ensure victory in the second leg between Sunderland and Coventry at the Stadium of Light.

AppearancesStartsMinutesGoalsAssists
44353198132
Wilson Isidor’s 2024/25 Sunderland stats – as of 12/05/2025

Despite a barren spell, his goal involvements return is very healthy. However, having some momentum and form is vital for both Isidor and the team ahead of a potential final at Wembley.

He has match-winning attributes and ability, which is a huge differential for any one-off game.